Self Sufficiency: the Natural Way to Live

The urgency for self sufficiency is way past due. We owe it to our families, communities and ourselves to be ready for land dependency. Land dependency means everything you need is on your property. Preparedness is having the right tools for any circumstance that arises – herbs for healing, organic seeds, homegrown foods for good health, the right trees and livestock to aid you in living a self sufficient life. Labeling trees and herbs is a necessary first step. Know the plant life on your properties so you can enhance their growth. Walk your lands and label your trees. Get books to identify herbs; be adventurous! Don’t wait for someone else to do it or work as a team. There are a great many medicinal trees that are very helpful. Pines are very beneficial because of their vitamin C content. The needles brew a good tea for colds. Pine sap, (or pitch, as it is often called) is used to heal a great many ailments. Native Indians chewed the sap to alleviate joint pain. It is used for colds, cancer, ulcers, smallpox, and it was once used for syphilis. The Chinese use the resin to treat abscesses. Maple trees are excellent sources of sugar. Learning to tap a tree and rendering down syrup is a must. Maple is known worldwide for its mineral content. South Koreans are known to drink it for a number of health concerns and to cleanse the body. They use it for weak bones, calcium deficiencies, high blood pressure and diabetes. Having a natural source of sugar is very much needed. If you don’t have bee hives, maple syrup is the next best thing. Birch trees are also excellent to have; the bark contains oil that can be distilled and used to treat eczema, and the leaves are used as a tea. They are also good for arthritis, bladder and kidney stones, and as a diuretic. Walnut trees are very helpful when removing parasites. It is important to know what you have. Here is an additional list of trees, shrubs, and herbs to have on hand: burdock, witch hazel trees, slippery elm trees, pine trees, butternut, yarrow, mint, elderberry, black walnut trees, blackberries, blueberry, sassafras, chickweed, horehound, penny royal, lady’s mantle, wild yam, golden rod, birch trees, red raspberry, aloe, oak trees, and the list goes on. They all have medicinal properties and are very sustainable.

Stock up on aluminum free baking soda (if possible), this is a quick first aid product used for burns, bee stings, upset stomach, deodorant, soap, and in the garden to neutralize acidic soil and as a insect repellant. Building outdoor stoves and making root cellars to store your veggies in the winter would be helpful. Canning is another must. The easiest way to can is by using a vacuum sealer. There are some that are very inexpensive. A 50lb bag of rice can fill approximately 29 canning jars and be stored indefinitely. Purchasing canning jars in bulk should be looked into. Soap making is another must-do because we need to stay clean. A good cleanser for clothing is borax. It removes stains well. However, tallow which is inside of most soaps, are derived from animals. Cosmetic companies purchase animal remains from rendering plants. There are rendering plants all across the United States. These plants transform dead animal carcasses from road kill, animal shelters, pet stores and zoo’s into sweet smelling cosmetics. Inside of lotions, makeup, cold creams, and soaps they add lots of perfumes to disguise the smell of the dead animals. There are many books on the topic and videos.

Learning to store your food is another necessity. Drying herbs and vegetables for future use is a practical thing to do. If you are on medication, try hard to search out a natural alternative. It is going to take a lot of hard work but it is possible. The prices of many medications is skyrocketing. Eat living foods, such as wheat grass, barley grass, sunflower sprouts everyday, if possible. I say ‘living foods’ because they have enzymes inside of them that clean the blood very quickly. Barley grass contains vitamins A, C, B1, B12, calcium, potassium, iron, 9 amino acids and folic acid. It is a strong antioxidant and that helps fights cancer. It can be grown indoors all-year -round.

There is a beauty to natural living. It is possible to be healthy and use natural remedies. You should just totally rely on Allah Ta Ala, as HE intended for us all along.